Quick Tips

How do you paint number boards on locomotives?

Number boards are those tiny little plates above the windows of the engine. The best way we've found has been to remove the lens from the shell and paint the number board. (Use black paint if using white decals; white paint if using black decals.) Gloss-coat the lens and apply the decals as usual.

I've got some N scale resin vehicles that have a thin layer of resin where the windshield should be. How can I simulate real glass?

Drill a hole through the center of the resin film and enlarge it using an Xacto #11 blade. Scrape what remains away from the "window frame." Paint Microscale Krystal Klear in the opening and when it dries, you've got your glass.

My train keeps coming apart when I'm running it. How can I keep it together?

(Note: The train in question had McHenry knuckle couplers). First check to make sure that the little plastic springs on the side of the coupler aren't broken. If they are, replace them. Now you what to check to see if all the couplers are at the same height; if they're not, the cars will have trouble staying coupled. On rolling stock, adjustments can easily be made using Kadee fiber washers. Remove the trucks from the mal-adjusted car and put a washer in between the truck and the car's underframe. For engines, replace the coupler with either a raised-head or lowered-head coupler.

 How can I give my train a more realistic appearance?

Weather everything. I use Grimy Black mixed with isopropyl alcohol to start and other colors as needed. This gives the trains a much more prototypical look. Although trains may look nice and shiny when they come out of the paint shop, it doesn't take them long to get dirty.

My N Scale Model Power freight cars don't run to smoothly. Any suggestions?

There's something about Model Power trucks: for some reason they don't run as smooth as others. I'd replace the entire truck with either Atlas or Microtrains trucks. If you use the Atlas trucks, you'd have to use the Atlas pin to hold them in. If you need to convert a lot of car, Mascot Tools make a pair of 6' curved tweezers that would be a big help in prying the Model Power trucks loose.

I have several boxcars that are exactly the except for the car numbers. How can I tell them apart without having to squint or use a magnifier to read the car numbers? After all, I don't want a car consigned to Denver to go to Pittsburgh.

You could weather each car with a different shade of paint. For example, a Southern 40 Plug Door box #11812 could be weathered with rust streaks, while Southern 40' Plug Door #11810 could be weathered with light gray. And so on.